What is a succinct definition of an essay?

Answer 1

Here are the shortest ones I could find by googling it!

• try: make an effort or attempt; "He tried to shake off his fears"; "The infant had essayed a few wobbly steps"; "The police attempted to stop the thief"; "He sought to improve himself"; "She always seeks to do good in the world"
• an analytic or interpretive literary composition
• test: put to the test, as for its quality, or give experimental use to; "This approach has been tried with good results"; "Test this recipe"
• a tentative attempt

You know ... YOU could use Google.com to look up definitions, too!